The present invention is directed toward a hair clamping device and more particularly toward such a device which is intended to hold a hank of hair being straightened or otherwise treated and which is extremely simple to utilize and easily and cheaply manufactured so that the same can be made to be disposable.
While the clamp of the present invention may be used for various types of hair treatments such as tinting, frosting, selective coloring, streaking, etc., it is particularly useful for straightening curly hair. Devices for straightening curly hair have been known for some time. Many prior art devices such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,432,251; 1,986,689 and 2,419,117 utilize electric heating means to accomplish the straightening. While such devices may be somewhat effective in straightening the hair, they can also cause extensive damage to the hair because of the temperature and duration of the heat which must be applied in order to be effective. Furthermore, the cost of these devices is relatively high.
Other devices for use with chemical straightening of hair have also been proposed. Examples of these devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,955,604; 3,343,548 and 3,367,345. Insofar as Applicant can determine, the device shown in the first of these patents cannot be effective since means are not provided for maintaining the hair in a straight or tensioned condition during use. The latter two patents are useful only for straightening the portions of the hair adjacent the scalp. These devices cannot be used for straightening the entire length of the person's hair.
Insofar as Applicant is aware, there are no devices presently on the market nor have there ever been any proposed which are capable of easily and effectively straightening a person's hair in a safe manner. All prior devices have also been relatively expensive. They are normally not intended for single use but must be cleaned and sterilized for subsequent use.
A wide variety of devices are also disclosed in the prior art for use in tinting or coloring hair. These are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,299,017; 2,299,018; 2,962,031 and 3,101,724. Such devices, however, are useful only for coloring or tinting and cannot be used for other purposes such as for straightening.
There is one prior art device which has been proposed specifically for use in dyeing hair at the roots but which could be used in a hair straightening process although there has been no previous suggestion for using the device in that manner. This device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,767. The device of that patent is a box or cylindrical shaped hinged shell which carries a foam pad therein. The device is clamped around a hank of hair and is held in a closed position by a clasp mounted thereon. Because of the shape of these patented devices, only a limited number of them can be applied to a person's hair since they would otherwise interfere with each other. Furthermore, because of the shape of the ends of the devices, they cannot be placed too close to a person's head.